7.16.2008

No knitting here today

Last night we got the key to our new place and started moving a few things in. We mainly went over last night so that we could evaluate everything that needs to be done and figure out where everything is going to go. We talked about paint colors and quickly realized that we left the paint samples at home so we will have to figure out the final color choices tonight. I always forget to take pictures before I start decorating a place and so I never have something to compare the after to. Well, this time I decided to make the before pictures a priority. I won't bore you with all of the pictures I took, just a few of the highlights.

First up is the livingroom (or about half of it.) As you can see the floors aren't in the best shape, but the 1970's door is fabulous. We are planning on painting this room a green or a tan which will flow in through the diningroom (which will actually be the tiki room since the table will fit in the kitchen.)

Next, we have the kitchen. This is the room that is going to go through the most drastic change. We are going to paint the walls a vibrant orange (I have wanted an orange room forever,) repaint the ceiling, trims, and cabinets white, and replace the electric stove with a gas one. The other side of the kitchen will be home to our 1950's kitchen table and repro chairs. I am also going to install our fabulous 1970's light fixture above the table and put the orb candle holders in the window.

The last picture I am going to share today is of the bathroom. I don't know if you remember the horribleness that is our current bathroom, but it is bad. Our new bathroom is smaller, but it has these wonderful bright turquoise tiles and a beautiful saturated blue floor. The bathtub sits in an archway (not seen here) which gives the room a nice feel. We aren't really going to do much in here at first, I am just so excited not to have to look at the 80's bathroom from hell anymore.

As for the packing, it has been a complete nightmare. Our current apartment has several large closets that we've filled to the brim with stuff. This proves my theory that we can't live in a place this large because we expand to the space we have. Our new place is quite a bit smaller with one less bedroom so hopefully we can purge enough to fit. I already have about 2 carloads of stuff stashed behind the bar to go to the Goodwill, but we are going to have to purge way more to fit comfortably.

We did do some responsible purging. First, we went through our zine collection and donated almost all of the zines to the UK Zine Library where we can go visit them. Then we bagged up a ton of video game stuff to sell to Gamestop where we are going to use the proceeds to buy a card with Microsoft points that we can use to buy more songs for Rock Band (as a reward after we move.)

Finally, I am taking most of my religion books to Sqecial tonight where I will trade them for store credit that I will use at a later date. The books were the hardest thing for me to part with since selling them pretty much means that I have officially decided not to go to grad school for religious studies. It sounds silly, but keeping those books around gave me a kind of security in my future plans. My thought was if all else fails I could always get my PhD and teach world religion in a high school setting. Of course, grad school would mean that I would have to move to Nashville or Missouri, neither of which are practical for me at this stage in my life, but I still liked having that cushion. In some ways I think that it might be better not to have a cushion; I need to focus on my life where it is now. I own an amazing business, have a great family and I am happy with the direction my life is going. I want to put more of my energy into the store while also putting more time and energy into my friendships (especially those that have fallen victim to my hectic schedule) and of course my relationship with Philip.

2 comments:

I love moving. I'm going to try to sell my crap at a yard sale before I move. What I don't sell will sit outside on Sunday with a big "FREE" sign next to it. Free sales are fun and doesn't require hauling crap to goodwill.